The present invention relates in general to gaming devices and method, and more particularly to a gaming device and method which includes a first interactive skill, partial skill, or pseudo skill game requiring one or more player inputs which yield or result in one or more outcomes. The outcome(s) from the first interactive game determines a function such as a paytable employed in a second wagering game on which the player makes a wager and in which the player can obtain an award.
Primary wagering games of gaming machines in most jurisdictions are games of luck, not games of skill. For instance, in slot machines, the player must make a wager on the slot game to begin the slot game, and the gaming machine randomly determines the outcome for the slot game. The outcome may be a winning outcome or a losing outcome. The outcome determines whether the player obtains an award according to the paytable of the slot machine. The paytables and winning combinations of the slot machine are predetermined or fixed.
One reason slot machines are popular, is because an amateur, novice or inexperienced player can play most slot machines at the player's own pace, with no required skills, strategy or risk evaluation and perform as well as a seasoned or experienced slot game player. Most slot machines are set to pay back on average between 80 and 99 percent of the amounts that the players wager. In most modern slot machines, a processor controlling the gaming machine randomly determines the outcomes and thus the awards. In other slot machines, a central server determines the awards and sends the awards to a plurality of gaming machines. The central server determines such awards from a pool of potential awards, where each award of the pool must be eventually provided to a player. The central server picks each award randomly from the pool.
Certain wagering gaming machines such as video poker and blackjack involve certain player strategy or decision-making. The player decides which cards to hold in draw-type poker games and whether to take additional cards in blackjack-type card games. These games generally require a certain level of strategy to be successful.
Other known games are bonus games triggered in a primary wagering game such as double-up poker-type and offer and acceptance-type bonus or secondary games which require a player to risk an award won to potentially achieve a higher award. These games also can generally be said to require a certain level of strategy to be successful.
Certain other bonus or secondary games triggered in a primary wagering game also employ skill, apparent skill or pseudo skill. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 6,761,632 discloses skill, apparent skill, and pseudo skill-type bonus games. In these bonus games, the awards are generally randomly determined. The player's participation in the skill, apparent skill or pseudo skill event may, for instance, determine the timing of when the player gets the awards. In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,572,473 discloses a game where the player skill can determine which set or pool of awards will be used to determine the award provided to the player in the game. The processor of the gaming machine randomly determines the award from the determined set or pool of awards to provide to the player.
Wagering games of gaming devices in certain jurisdictions are required to involve a skill event such as an event requiring player dexterity to be successful. These games cannot turn purely upon a random outcome. These gaming machines require strategy or timing of inputs by the player to determine chance of success and failure. If the player does not play optimally, the actual payout percentage of the gaming machine will decrease accordingly.
Primary wagering games which are purely skill games or partial skill games present certain problems for game designers and gaming establishments. First, skill games can be mastered by players having a high level of skill, substantial practice or both. To combat the mastering of such games and to make the economics work, a game designer may have to make the skill game relatively difficult. The difficulty level may be too great for inexperienced or average players to have a sufficient level of success and enjoyment at the gaming machines. Such players may not have a good gaming experience and may not repeat play on the gaming machines.
Skill games, on the other hand, are generally interactive and are enjoyable for certain people to play. Many people have especially grown accustomed to and comfortable with playing arcade skill games, home video skill games, computer skill games, handheld device skill games, and data network (e.g., internet) skill games. Some of these people may not want to play games of conventional gaming machines which are purely based on randomly generated outcomes and involve no skill or little skill. Some of these people also enjoy the competitive nature of skill games which are not provided by known conventional wagering games of gaming machines.
Accordingly, a need exists for a gaming machine and method including a player interactive component and a wagering component that can be readily played in a casino or a gaming environment. A need also exists for a gaming machine and for a method of controlling payouts in a gaming machine having a skill component so the gaming machine does not provide a disadvantage or a significant disadvantage to inexperienced or average players and which also limits prohibitive high payouts to those who master the skill component.